title: What do medical trainees think is so difficult about communicating with patients?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the communication skills medical trainees perceive themselves to avoid or use during initial clinical encounters and the areas of communication learning need they identify.
  
  
  METHODS
  446 2nd year undergraduate medical students were invited to take part in the study. Details of four encounters with patients were entered into a web-based electronic logbook by the student. Details included perception of use, success and requests for further training from a list of communication process skills.
  
  
  RESULTS
  395 (89%) students took part. Factor analysis yielded three types of skills: those used to manage the flow of interaction; the emotional content of the interaction; and structuring the interaction. Skills perceived as being used least often and least successfully and identified by the students as requiring further training were primarily those that involved managing the emotional aspects of interactions with patients rather than managing the flow of information.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Communication training should focus further on the emotional aspects of patient interactions in order to support students during early clinical encounters.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Skills required to manage emotional encounters need to be made more explicit to students. Opportunities to obtain feedback and develop competency should be offered as part of the core curriculum.
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. sarah.peters@manchester.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Cherie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McCracken
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004644:Emotions; D004739:England; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations